The Secret of Happiness
by Ms.RoxanneWeasley
Summary: The Marauders and Lily are entering their seventh year at Hogwarts. Meet Krysthalia, a fellow Gryffindor seventh year. She's dating Sirius, and everyone thinks she has it all. But, what they don't know is that she has a secret, too. Follow her adventures!
1. Introducing the Main Players

**Chapter One**

"Krysthalia," her father said, holding his daughter's shoulders and looking her straight in the eyes, "Be careful at school. If anything, and I mean anything, is wrong, owl us immediately. And, don't be afraid to go to Dumbledore."

The small family was standing on Platform 9 ¾, and the Hogwarts Express had just pulled up. The dark haired Gryffindor was entering her seventh year at the magical school, but her parents clearly still worried about her.

"Dad, I know, I know," the girl said, smiling, "Relax. I'll be fine. I've done this before, you know."

"We know, dear," her mother said, pulling her into a tight hug, "We worry because we love you." Krys was sure that every parent said that to their child at some point. She was used to her parents' constant worrying by now. Over her mother's shoulder, she saw her boyfriend Sirius Black making his way towards her. She quickly shook her long, curly hair out of its ponytail, no longer paying attention to what her parents were saying. It had been three whole weeks since she had seen him, she would definitely have to talk to him about that.

"Hi Mr. and Mrs. Meadows," he said politely as he reached them.

"Sirius," Mr. Meadows said, shaking the tall boy's hand, "How are you?"

"Pretty good," Sirius replied as he turned to hug Mrs. Meadows, "I can't say that I'm too excited to be starting school. All of the teachers spent the last year telling us how hard this year is going to be."

"Oh, you guys will have so much fun this year! Your final year at Hogwarts," her mother began, getting sentimental, "Oh, how you kids grow up so fast!"

"Well," Krys said, trying to prevent the awkward scene that would inevitably follow as her mother reached for her handkerchief, "We should really get on the train. Here, Sirius, will you put this in our compartment for me?" She handed him her trunk.

"Oh, sure, get me to do all of your dirty work. Is that all you think I'm good for? Manual labor?" He said, pretending to be offended.

"Um, yup, that's pretty much it," she answered, laughing. She was about to follow him onto the train, but her father held her back.

"Wait, Krysthalia," he started, obviously the safety lecture wasn't over, "If you think you're loosing control, or you start having weird dreams again, get help immediately, ok?" He looked at her intently. Her smile faded at the serious look on her dad's face. She grabbed both of his hands in hers.

"Dad, I promise I will at the first hint that anything is wrong. I'll be extremely careful." She kissed him and her mom on the cheek. And, with a quick hug, she boarded the train and was off. Ready to start her final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

_Months later…_

Krys turned her head to look at James across the common room. By the way Peter was guffawing and Sirius was making snide remarks, it was obvious that James was making fun of Sirius. He was making little kissy faces.

"Oh, grow up," She thought. She whipped out her wand and took careful aim. She turned back to her friends to find them all staring at her.

"Wha..?" began Lily, her best friend, questioningly. Krys held up her hand to stop her and cocked her head, listening carefully.

Three, two, one…

A huge roar of laughter erupted from across the common room. The girls whipped their heads around to see Sirius rolling on the floor with laughter and James frantically feeling his frozen face. Krys chuckled and walked over.

"Wow, James. I think that's a good look for you. Then again, anything's an improvement." Laughing heartily, Sirius came and put his arm around her waist, puling her close.

"You're brilliant," he said as he kissed her.

"I know" she replied, looking pleased. James gestured wildly, his eyes darting to Lily. It was actually quite funny to see James being the frantic one for once.

"Why hello Remus" Sirius greeted the newcomer with mock formality. He bowed slightly, and she dipped in a small curtsey. Remus went along with the act.

"Good evening Sirius, Krysthalia," He said, bowing and turning to his frantic friend, "Good to see you James." Krys giggled as James hopped with frustration.

"Oh, alright, calm down." She waved her wand reluctantly. The Freezing Charm was instantly lifted, and James massaged his aching face.

"Did she see? I can't believe you did that while she was around!" He rounded on her.

"Hey mate, chill out," replied Sirius, gently pushing James back.

"Well, maybe you should pick a better time to act like an ass," she said dismissively, "She doesn't think any less of you for this, trust me."

"How do you know what she thinks," muttered James, staring at the back of Lily's head.

"I'm her best friend, you idiot," she replied scathingly.

"Oh, right, sorry," James shook his head and turned back to her, "So what does she really think of me then."

"Like I'd tell you," she said looking him up and down. She rolled her eyes and turned to Remus who was staring at Samantha Prewter, a pretty Gryffindor a year behind them.

"You should go for it, " she whispered.

"Huh? What? Sorry, I missed that," he said turning.

"Ask her out! Have some fun! You deserve it!" She said encouragingly.

"I don't think she'd want to go out with me," he said doubtfully.

"I beg to differ. You should hear her go on about you! 'Remus is so cute! And smart! Sigh!' It's kinda sick," she said nudging him playfully, "She's so into you, go for it!"

"Yeah, maybe, we'll see," he said quietly. She knew he needed to get out more, and she was determined to get Samantha and him together. She'd talk some sense into him.

" Well, I have to finish Charms homework. Catch up with you at dinner," waved Remus, walking up the stairs.

"So, you give him advice, but for me you have nothing," James stalked away huffily. She giggled and watched him walk away. He was really going to have to work on that attitude if he was to have a shot with Lily. Maybe she'd give him some pointers later. Now, she turned her attention her much improved Sirius. Okay, just a little improved, but she liked the whole bad boy thing. It added to his charm.

"Finally, alone," he said pulling her closer. She smiled slowly, gazing up into his gorgeous eyes. They sank into a huge armchair at the back of the room, ignoring the giggles and the stares of the people around them and the exasperated looks on their friends' faces. She couldn't remember being happier. He was just so perfect for her. She sighed happily, then shook herself mentally. Since when did she become so sentimental? Before she knew it, it was time to go down to dinner. She and Sirius pulled apart, and, holding hands, walked towards their friends. She grinned sheepishly to Lily who just shook her head, smiling.

"Did you finish the Potions homework?" She inquired.

"Oh, ages ago. I didn't feel like lunch."

"How about Transfiguration?"

"I'll do it after dinner."

"I just hope you have time to finish it," Lily said, accusingly.

"Hey Evans, what did you think of McGonagall's last lesson? How easy were those Conjuring spells?" James lept at the chance to strike up conversation with Lily.

"I'm glad you're doing so well in class, Potter." Lily replied coldly, not even bothering to look at him. Krys and Sirius tried hard not to laugh at the crestfallen look on James's face as his obvious attempt to impress Lily failed miserably. They turned to look at Lupin who had caught Samantha's eye, both were blushing furiously.

"Hey, Krys, why don't we get Samantha and her friends to eat dinner with us?" Sirius said impishly, watching the bashful look on his friend's face.

"Good idea," she agreed, skipping away. He watched her go, taking in the sway of her hips and the flip of her long, dark hair. He shook his head and smiled to himself. Tonight he'd give James some pointers on how to stop being such a pompous ass. It would be hard. He knew, he had undergone the transformation himself for Krys. Sure, he was still a little bit of an ass but otherwise life would be boring. She came up behind him and slipped her arm through his.

"Okay, just let me take care of seating tonight. Hey Lils, come here," she motioned to her friend. She leaned in to whisper.

"We need to get Samantha and Remus together so I'm thinking we should sit Pettigrew, Remus, Samantha, you. That way they can have some alone time," she whispered, underlining alone.

"Prewter and Lupin!" Lily squealed, "Oh, that's so perfect! He really needs someone."

"I know! So just stick to the plan and we might find one more couple in the Gryffindor house!" Krys the turned to Sirius and said in an even lower whisper,

"Let James sit next to Lily, I feel like being nice. But don't tell Lily! She'll kill me!" They smiled at each other. Lily's disapproval of James was widely known, but, between friends, it was questioned often. She felt that Lily's feelings for James could go either way, and she was going to try and make it favorable. She thought James was a good kid, deep down, and, he was right for Lily, if he learned to deflate his head a little. They'd just have work on that later.

The group of friends burst into the Great Hall, her and Sirius leading the way. Many heads turned. All in all, their large entourage contained the pretty and talented of Gryffindor, with the exception of Pettigrew, who just knew the right people. Among those turned heads were Lucius Malfoy and Severus Snape. Two of the most loathsome people she had ever laid eyes on. Their being in Slytherin was no mistake. Their eyes followed her until she sat down. Sirius noticed Malfoy's lingering star and scowled.

"If he even comes near you, I'll kill him," he muttered threateningly.

"Don't worry. I wouldn't come within 10 feet of him. I might get slime on me." She said, soothingly.

They laughed and she maneuvered her friends into the seating arrangement she wanted. She noticed that some of Samantha's cute friends had immediately sat on the other side of James. They couldn't believe their luck when Sirius sat on their other side. She laughed when she saw this. Her friends found it odd that she never got jealous, even after practically every girl in the school threw herself at Sirius. Only Lily understood that she knew Sirius cared deeply about her and didn't even consider the other girls a possibility. Lily looked horrified at the thought of spending dinner next to James and some giggling little girls. He surprised them all by ignoring the girls and turning instead to Lily, asking her about her family and what Muggles were like. They even caught her laughing at James's confusion over escalators.

"Well, it looks like they're having a nice time doesn't it?" Sirius said laughingly, "Good work, Ms. Matchmaker."

"I try," she said smiling. Sirius tried to brush off the girls on his other side, but they were not to be deterred, having been denied one of their prey. Finally, frustrated, he got her to switch places with him. The girls were still thrilled. She sighed and resigned herself to answering their endless questions about makeup, hair, and boys. After dinner, she thankfully got up and smiled when she saw Lily and James still talking on their way back to the common room. She poked Sirius and pointed it out.

"Ah, new love," he said, draping his arm around her shoulders, "Oh, Krys, you're a miracle worker," he exclaimed, as they exited the Great Hall. Directly in front of them Lucius Malfoy held open the door.

"Oh, thank you," she said, without looking at who was there.

"You're welcome…Krys," he said in what he hoped was a charming manner. Sirius's head whipped around, his hand already reaching for his wand, She looked at him warningly and put her hand over his.

"That's Krysthalia to you," she said coldly.

"Or, better yet, don't talk to her at all," Sirius growled. They walked out of the Great Hall in a more somber mood than they had entered. They saw Lily and James standing there waiting for them. They had witnessed the whole scene.

"You handled that well," Lily said approvingly. She meant Sirius, of course. He was known for his wild temper.

"Yeah, well, if Krys hadn't stopped me, I would have cursed the slimy git into the next country!" He grumbled menacingly. Lily patted his arm soothingly. Krys pecked him on the cheek and linked her arms through his and Lily's.

"Grab on, Potter," she said, motioning for him to put his arm through Lily's. To their amazement, she held out her arm invitingly, possibly not realizing what she was doing. The quartet trooped through the halls, following Lupin and Samantha, and faithfully followed by their loyal supporters. They drew stares and waves from those around them. Krys noticed some 3rd year girls pointing to Sirius and James. She smiled when she heard their whispered remarks about how handsome Sirius looked and how tan James was. She even heard comments about how lucky she was, better yet, was Lily really going out with James? This last question prompted a whole new batch of whispering. They had reached the portrait whole and all of them clambered through. The boys and girls split to enter their separate dormitories. She told lily she'd be there in a bit, and went with the boys to their dormitory. She wanted to talk to James about Lily, and to Sirius about that sleaze Malfoy. She followed Sirius into the room he shared with James, Remus, Pettigrew, and Frank Longbottom. She plopped onto Sirius's bed and indicated for James to join her.

"So that went surprisingly well," she said.

"I know!" Replied James enthusiastically, "I think we really clicked!"

"Yeah and you didn't act like an idiot all evening," noted Sirius, settling down next to her.

"I though I'd try a new approach," James said sheepishly.

"Well, keep it up, it's really working," she encouraged. It wasn't until Remus walked into the room that she noticed he had been missing.

"So, mate, how'd it go?" asked Sirius, watching his friend carefully. Remus blushed and asked if it was ok if Samantha joined them for breakfast the following day.

"Ha! Good work! I knew she wouldn't be able to resist your charm!" Sirius said, clapping his friend on the back. Remus grinned and shook his head.

"I guess I must have picked up a few tips from being around you lot all the time," he said, underestimating his own appeal as usual.

"Well, if she's going to be hanging out with us more, I hope her friends learn to chill out a little. They almost kept me from talking to Lily with their high pitched chatter," James said peevishly. Sirius and Krys exchanged glances. It seemed that their little James was getting quite serious about Lily.

"Well, I'm glad tonight went well for you, too," Krys said, getting up, "I'm off to bed. Walk me out?" She reached out her hand to Sirius.

"Sure," he said, getting up and grabbing her hand.

"Goodnight," said Remus, "and you were right, thanks."

"Yeah, thanks a lot," echoed James, " 'Night."

She waved to Frank and walked back to the common room with Sirius. At the bottom of the stairs to her dormitory, just out view of a group of curious Gryffindors, she turned to him.

"I'm really proud of you for controlling your temper after dinner," she began.

"Thanks, but it took all I had not to pound in his smug little face," Sirius said, frowning at the memory.

"I know. But, I'm just not sure what he was doing. I thought it was his goal in life to have nothing to do with Gryffindors." She said, puzzled. She looked at Sirius, who was shaking his head, slightly smiling.

"Krys," he said, pulling her to him, "you underestimate yourself. But, he better forget whatever ideas he has. Or else I'll beat them out of him."

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much," she said, playfully.

"Oh, I know. But, you can't think I'd stand by and watch that sleazeball make a move on my girl," he said, hugging her.

"I know. I just don't want you to do anything stupid. You won't, will you?" She looked up at him, worried.

"It depends on what he does," he said, then, seeing the look on her face, added, "I'll try and be sensible. Don't worry about me." He kissed her forehead, holding her close.

"But, I do," she said, too quietly for him to hear. She knew he had a tendency to let his temper get the better of him. When they first started dating, it was all she could do to stop him from hexing every guy that looked at her.

"I should go. Lily will be up waiting for me. I have a feeling she'll want to talk about tonight." She smiled at him and kissed him goodnight.

"I love you," he whispered, looking into her eyes. She felt her insides melt, it was amazing the effect he had on her.

"I love you, too," she whispered back, "Goodnight." With a final kiss, they parted. She could feel his eyes still on her. Before disappearing up the stairs, she turned and blew him a kiss, which he pocketed with a wink. She climbed the rest of the stairs smiling. She opened the door to her room and was greeted by a very wide awake Lily.

"There you are! What took you so long? I was waiting for you!" Lily said, pulling Krys into the room.

"She was probably saying a nice long goodnight to Sirius," said a sleepy Sara.

"I know that's what I'd do if I was dating him. Or James." Said an equally sleepy Tiffany.

"You two are so lucky," Sara said before murmuring her goodnights. And, with that, both of them promptly fell asleep. Krys looked to the last bed and saw Alice laughing at the blush on Lily's face. She was a cute blonde girl, a close friend of Krys and Lily, who was dating Frank Longbottom.

"So what did happen today at dinner?" Alice asked, coming to sit on Krys's bed, "I thought you couldn't stand James Potter."

"Yeah, well, I'm not really sure what happened," Lily said, blushing furiously, " He wasn't acting like a jerk at all. He was so sweet and funny. He was asking me about Muggles, he's not into all that pureblood nonsense."

"Well, of course he's not. He's not a little bitch, or a Slytherin," Krys said darkly, thinking of Malfoy.

"So, do you like him?" Alice asked, looking at her friend inquiringly.

"I don't know about that, but I certainly don't dislike him anymore," Lily said, looking unsure of her feelings. Alice smiled, content with the response. Then, stifling a yawn, she said goodnight to the other two girls and returned to her bed. Before settling into her own bed, Lily turned to Krys.

"You know, the thing that impressed me most was when he turned away from those other girls to talk to me. I mean, he actually turned down an opportunity to show off," she confided, "I think he's changing."

"Would you like him then?" Krys asked. Lily just smiled at her friend, knowing that Krys understood.

"Goodnight, Lily," Krys said, smiling.

" 'Night, Krys," Lily responded. And, feeling satisfied with how the day had turned out, Krys fell asleep.

_Red sparks danced over ting, infant hands. Instead of falling, the baby hovered, suspended in mid air. The nanny was still screaming without the slightest concern for the baby she had just dropped. She was scared and confused. Moments before, she had been trying to rock the restless baby to sleep when it had started, for lack of a better word, vibrating. The baby giggled, forming a glowing red ball between its small palms. The giggles turned into a shriek of laughter as the ball exploded with force. The baby's laughter rand out as the nanny was thrown backwards, crashing against the wall and sinking to the floor. The baby continued to smile gleefully as the nanny slumped unconscious on the floor, a trickle of blood running down her temple._

Krys woke up abruptly, glancing around her wildly, unsure of her surroundings or what had awoken her. She took several deep breaths, remembering she was safe in her bed at school. The fragments of her dream were still floating around in her head. She could remember a baby laughing. It had seemed familiar, like a dream she had had before. She was pulled out of her thoughts by a sound coming from one of the other beds. Someone was crying. Krys slipped out from under her thick comforter and pulled back the hangings around the bed from which she heard the soft sniffles.

"Lils?" She whispered her best friend's name, "Lils? Are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh, Krys, it's you." Lily replied, sighing sadly. Krys climbed onto the bed, putting her arms around her crying friend.

"Lils, what's wrong? Why are you crying?" She said, concerned. Lily wasn't one for emotional outbursts.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just had a bad dream. That's all. I know, it's silly." Lily said, giving Krys a weak smile while wiping away her tears.

"No, that's not silly at all," Krys said, smoothing her friend's hair and thinking how weird her dream had left her feeling, even if she couldn't remember it, "What was it about?"

"It was one of those dreams that just seems so real," Lily began, " Me and you were standing outside my house, but the door was open. Someone had broken in. My family was inside so we ran inside to warn them. We found them and tried to get them out. I kept telling them that there were people inside the house, but they wouldn't believe me. Then, you wouldn't believe me, either. And, the Death Eaters were behind them the whole time, hiding with their masks on. God, it was so scary. I've never had a dream like that before." She had started tearing up as she recounted the dream. Krys hugged her friend tightly.

"It's ok," she whispered, "it was just a dream." But, despite those reassurances, it was a while before either of them could fall asleep.


	2. Potions Fiasco

**Chapter Two**

The next day she woke up and was downstairs in the common room before she remembered that she hadn't done the Transfiguration homework.

"Bullocks!" She said loudly.

"What is it?" Sirius said, coming up behind her.

"I forgot to do McGonagall's homework!" She said, panicking.

"Me too. Don't worry it's easy," he said, pulling out _Standard Spells Grade 7_. "We only had to review human Switching Spells." Relieved, she pulled out her wand. They had done those last year. She quickly skimmed over the directions in the book.

"Ok, now I just need someone to practice on," she said, glancing around.

"I'll do it on you, and you do it on me." Sirius suggested, snapping the book shut.

"Ok, noses to buttons on three. One, two, three." She said, as both waved their wands. Right then, James walked up to them.

"Hmm, I think that's a good look for you, Krys," he said, observing the buttons that had replaced their noses.

"Hey, you hab behher be 'ice hoo me," she said, sounding like she had a very bad head cold. Both she and Sirius waved their wand, and their noses were instantly restored.

"Alright, I know, I owe you for last night. By the way, did Lily say anything about me?" James asked eagerly.

"Even if she did, I wouldn't tell you," she said mischievously. James sighed and turned to star at the back of Lily's head. Right then, as if sensing his eyes, Lily turned and, to James's amazement, smiled at him. As she turned back to her conversation, James turned to Krys and Sirius, ecstatic.

"Did you see that? She smiled at me!" He said, excitedly.

"Chill, mate," Sirius said laying a calming hand on his friend.

"I'm gonna go for it," said James, turning in Lily's direction as she moved towards the portrait hole. "Hey Ev-, er, Lily! Wait up!" He called. Lily turned, and with an amused expression, waited for him to catch up. Together, they walked down to breakfast.

"Well, will you look at that?" Sirius said, wonderingly, "That must have been some magic he worked last night."

"No pun intended?" Krys said, laughing.

"No pun intended," he said, smiling and putting his arm around her, "Come on, we're late for breakfast." They waved to Remus who was waiting for Samantha. Once they reached their table in the Great Hall, Krys took out her Potions essay and was rereading it when Pettigrew sat down beside Sirius.

"Hey! Hey Sirius. Did ya hear? The last Hogsmeade trip of the term is in two weeks." Peter said in that twitchy way of his, "And, and, you said you that you wanted to know so you could…"

"Yes, yes, Wormtail, thank you," Sirius interrupted. Out of the corner of his mouth he muttered, "Wormtail, you're such an idiot, it's a SURPRISE."

"Oh, oh, sorry Sirius. I'm, I'm really sssorry," Wormtail stuttered.

"It's ok, I know you can't help being idiot," Sirius said, patting his friend affectionately on the back. Then, seeing the quizzical look on Krys's face, said, "Peter just wanted to remind me to do my Christmas shopping. You know Peter, always trying to help his friends."

"Ok…" she said with a disbelieving expression on her face. She went back to her essay, wondering what Sirius was up to. Well, she didn't have time to worry about it, they were going to be late for Potions if they didn't hurry up. She packed up her essay and finished her tea.

"Ok, let's go," she said, standing up. They all made their way to the dungeons, but for some reason Lily was hanging at the back of the group. Krys dropped back to talk to her.

"What's wrong, Lils?" Krys asked.

"I just don't want to run into Slughorn," Lily said, "I just know that he's going to invite me to his Christmas Party."

"Well, that can't be that bad! I'm going to be there!" Krys said.

"Yeah, but you'll have Sirius. I'll just be the odd one out," Lily complained.

"Well, you could always invite someone, like James," Krys said mischieviously.

"Hmm…I dunno about that," Lily said, "but, hopefully I won't have to go at all." They slipped into class as inconspicuously as possible and sat down next to Tiffany and Alice.

"Good morning class. I trust everyone finished their essays. Turn them in up here, and please stay at the front of the class, I will be splitting you into pairs for today's lesson," Professor Slughorn said as he entered the classroom. Krys fished her essay out of her bag and made her way to the front of the class with everyone else. She was praying that she wouldn't be paired with a Slytherin, but, knowing her luck, she would be stuck with Malfoy. Much to her disappointment, Slughorn went through the line of students pairing them with different Houses. He was big on interHouse relations. And, since the advanced Potions class was a mixture of all the Houses, there was always plenty of opportunity for mingling. As he paired Lily with Narcissa Black, Sirius's cousin whom he refused to acknowledge any connection to, Slughorn asked Lily if she would be attending his Christmas party.

"Er…um...sure sir, I'll be there," she said, reluctantly.

"Excellent. It's going to be a little fancier this year. Oh, and don't forget to bring a date," Slughorn said, happily. Krys laughed to herself. Now Lily would have to ask James! But, she stoped laughing soon when Slughorn paired her with Malfoy. Her smile quickly turned to a frown, and she saw Sirius look disbelievingly at Slughorn and then at Malfoy with loathing. Malfoy smirked and picked up his things. As Krys moved her things, she passed Sirius.

"Don't worry," she said, trying to calm him down.

"I don't trust him," he growled, sitting at the table right next to her. He was paired with Goyle, one of Malfoy's cronies and an imbecile.

"It's just a Potions lesson. What can he do?" she replied, soothingly. She tried to appear relaxed, but inside she was recoiling at the thought of spending an extended period of time with Malfoy that close by.

"Today you will be concocting a very mild Seduction Potion. Now this potion is very tricky, which is why I have left it until now. Mind you, I still want you to make it very mild. You will all have to test your own potions and adding this on top of your hormones may wreck havoc. The ingredients you need are in the store cabinet. You have until the end of the period. Begin." Slughorn said, waving his arms dramatically. Krys turned to face a smirking Malfoy.

"Ok, well, just let me do most of the work. I don't want the potion jeopardized," she said, trying not to look at him.

"Whatever you say, Kry…" he started.

"And call me Meadows," she interrupted, "I don't feel we're close enough to be on a first name basis." She sent him to get the ingredients and started the fire under the cauldron. She scanned the instruction. This was going to be tricky. But, potions dealing with love or attraction were always tricky. Malfoy returned with the ingredients, and she quickly set about ordering him around. She made him measure slice, ground, or squeeze the ingredients, depending on what was appropriate. As she placed and stirred the ingredients in the cauldron, she talked to herself, reminding herself of the uses of the different items. After almost an hour of careful stirring and measuring, she asked Malfoy to hand her a tenth of an ounce of the final and most crucial ingredient, crushed unicorn tail. He handed it to her, heaped on a small silver spoon. She thought that it looked like a little too much, but she shrugged and dumped it in, just as Slughorn's timer went off. She stirred it clockwise three times and extinguished the fire.

"Alright, time's up. Now it's time to test the potion. First, everyone please turn in their labeled potion samples," Slughorn paused as everyone scrambled to turn theirs in, "this potion works particularly well on females, so I would like them to be the testers. If you are in a group of two girls, kindly find a group of two boys whose potion you can test." Krys saw Lily move over to Sirius's table.

"Now, on the count of three. One, two, three."

Krys lifted her glass and downed it in one gulp. It was actually pretty good. It had a spicy cinnamon taste. She felt a fire burn through her. She shook out her hair and turned to gaze at Sirius from under her eyelashes. She pouted her lips and beckoned to him. With an apprehensive look on his face, Sirius approached her. She pulled him closer to her and kissed him, right there in the middle of class. While most of the other girls were simply fluffing their hair and giving the boys inviting looks, she stood there kissing her boyfriend. She wasn't the only one acting odd, though. While Malfoy watched, horrified as his plan backfired, Narcissa approached him coyly. Before he knew it, she had her arms wrapped around him. It turns out that Potions wasn't one of Narcissa's best subjects. It wasn't one of Goyle's either, though nothing was really a good subject for him. Lily, having sampled his potion, had made her way to James. She had her arms around his neck and was about to kiss him when Slughorn got to her with the antidote. One squirt and she was back to normal. When Krys regained her senses, she looked around and saw a very confused Lily in very happy James's arms. Lily blushed and returned to her table. It was then that Krys turned to her situation. She quickly realized what had happened. Turning to Malfoy, livid, she accused him.

"You! You gave me too much unicorn tail, didn't you! Admit it! I know you did! Now I'm going to get a bad grade, and it's all your fault!" She couldn't believe what the creep had done! He probably thought she would go for him. Oh gross! As if!

"There, there, Ms. Meadows. Calm down," Slughorn soothed, "You will not be receiving lower marks because of Mr. Malfoy's heavy handedness."

"Thank you very much, Professor," said a slightly calmer Krys. She had always been one of Slughorn's favorites. She first got into the Slug Club because the Meadows were a prominent pureblood family, and her father was Head of the Department of International Magical Relations. Well, it was her adopted father, but it still counted. Krys had been adopted by the Meadows when she was extremely young. No one knew who her real parents were or if she was really a pureblood witch. Her parents didn't care, they never believed in all that tainted blood nonsense. They preferred to associate themselves with other families, like the Potters, that felt the same way. She had known James since they were kids.

"Hey, Krys, come on," James said, breaking her reverie, "time for Transfiguration. We better hurry, you know how McGonagall is about being late." With that, all of them rushed out of the dungeons.

"Hey Lils! Wait up!" Krys called. Lily seemed to know what was coming next. She blushed and slowed reluctantly.

"So, I thought you didn't like James?" Krys said, grinning.

"Yeah, well, um, I don't." Lily began.

"Don't even try to deny it!" Krys said, "The potion doesn't lie!"

"I didn't even think I liked him!"

"Well, now that you know that you do, you have to ask him to Slughorn's party!"

"We'll see," Lily said smiling. It was apparent that she couldn't ask anyone else after that incident. They entered the Transfiguration classroom and found their normal seats. Luckily Malfoy wasn't in this class, he hadn't made it into McGonagall's N.E.W.T. class. The period passed quickly. They were just reviewing previous years in preparation for their N.E.W.T.s. Bored, Krys turned to Lily to ask about her plans for the Christmas Holidays.

"So, what are you doing over the holidays?" she asked.

"You mean, what are we doing over the holidays, right?" Lily asked back.

"We?" Krys said, confused.

"Yeah, didn't you get a letter from your parents?" Lily asked. Krys dove into her bag and pulled out a very crumpled piece of parchment.

"Well I got this at breakfast, but I haven't had a chance to read it yet." She confessed, trying to smooth the note out.

"Figures." Lily said, smiling and shaking her head, "Well, it says that your parents are going to Africa because your dad has some conference he had to go to. So, instead of joining them, you're coming to stay with me!"

"Really?!" Krys said, excitedly. She hated going to her dad's conferences. They were always so boring. Staying with Lily would be so exciting! She had never stayed in a Muggle house before. Of course, she had been to Lily's house, but never to stay.

"Yeah! We're going to have so much fun!" Lily said, just as excited. They tried to focus on the lesson, but, thankfully, class ended shortly after. On the way to lunch, Krys filled Sirius in on the good news.

"Cool, maybe me and James will come visit," he said. She knew that he and James spent all their holidays together since Sirius had run away from home.

"You better come visit!" She said, "and you don't have an excuse since you both have passed your Apparition test."

"Alright, I know. I promise I'll come." He said, putting his arm around her. As they walked through the halls, Krys noticed tell tale signs of Christmas. Holly bedecked the staircases, tinsel crowned the suits of armor, and, to her disappointment, mistletoe hung in the hallways.

"Oh, no!" she groaned.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, looking concerned. She looked up and pointed, they were standing directly beneath a bunch of mistletoe. After kissing her, Sirius laughed as he remembered last year. Krys and Lily had to run through the halls during class to avoid the guys trying to catch them under the mistletoe. He had managed to snag a kiss from Krys last year by catching her under the mistletoe outside the Gryffindor tower. That was before they were dating so she had been reluctant. Krys heard another groan. Lily had just noticed the mistletoe as well.

"Well, you don't need to worry this year," Sirius said, "James and I will take care of you two."

"What do you mean?" Lily asked.

"Well, there's more than one way to get to class, if you know what I mean." James said, mischievously, "How do you think we avoided being ambushed in the halls last year?"

"I didn't think you tried to avoid it at all." Krys joked.

"Well, after a while it got annoying." Sirius said. With that, they all entered the Great Hall and sat down to lunch.

"Hey, where'd Remus go?" Krys said, looking around for their friend. Just then Remus walked in with Samantha by his side.

"He must have waited for Samantha after class." Lily said. They passed lunch by watching Remus and Samantha. Sirius and James couldn't stop laughing. After lunch, they all went to class and, before they knew it, they were sitting in the common room waiting for dinner. Krys decided to finally catch up on her homework. She was taking a break when she noticed Sirius, Lily, Alice, and James sitting in the corner whispering.

"Hmm," she murmured, frowning, "I wonder what they're up to." She felt a little lonely, sitting at her table, books spread out in front of her. But, before she could feel too sorry for herself, Remus came and sat down in the chair next to her.

"Hey you." She said with a big smile, thankful for the company.

"Hey," he said in his quiet, peaceful manner, "have time to talk?"

"Yeah, of course. You know I always have time for you!"

"You look a little…busy" he said, surveying the massive amounts of books laid out in front of her.

"Ha…yeah…it's cool. I didn't really feel like doing this anyways. I can finish it later." She said, closing and stacking the books to focus on him. "What's going on with you?"

"Well.." he started hesitantly, "it's about Samantha."

"The lovely Ms. Pewter? I surmised as much." she said, smiling knowingly as he broke into a grin and looked down bashfully, "How's that going? What's happened?"

He proceeded to tell her about earlier that afternoon, the two of them had taken a walk around the school grounds. They had held hands as the sun set.

"Aw! Remus! That's so cute! It sounds like you two are really hitting it off." She said, extremely happy for him. He was such a great guy, it was about time he found someone to make him happy.

"Yeah," he said, looking pretty pleased, "I think I like her a lot."

"Well, will darling Sam be joining us for dinner?" she asked, fairly certain that she already knew the answer.

"Definitely" he said, the expected reply. And, before Lupin could talk to Krys about a completely unrelated subject he had been keen to discuss, they were interrupted by Lily casually coming to call them off to dinner.

"Oh, all done with your secret meeting then?" Krys said, a bit harsher than she had intended. Lupin's eyebrows raised a fraction at her tone, and his mouth twitched as he tried not to smile at her annoyance.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Lily replied breezily.

"Oh, alright then," Krys said, feeling bad about her previous statement, "let me just put these books back upstairs." But, while she told herself it was nothing, she still felt that something was going on when she returned to the Common Room to see everyone talking excitedly in the corner, only to stop upon her approach.

"Finally!" James said with mock frustration. She playfully punched him in the arm as the while gang climbed out of the portrait hole and proceeded to dinner.

**A/N: So, this is my very first fanfic, as you can probably tell. Pretty, pretty please R&R!! Oh, and I know it's starting off a little slowly, but hang in there! I'll try to get to the good stuff soon!!**


	3. Just Another Week

**Chapter Three**

The following week passed pretty uneventfully. James was busy practicing for the upcoming Quidditch match. Lily still hadn't swallowed her pride and asked him to Slughorn's party. Remus was spending increasing amounts of time with Samantha. Sirius and Peter were busy doing God knows what. Krys spent all her free time in the library studying. She didn't want to spend the holidays catching up so she as determined to have all of her work done by then. It was there that Lily found her the evening before the last Quidditch match of the term: Gryffindor versus Slytherin. She was sitting with a pretty Ravenclaw named Cheryl. Cheryl was a good friend of theirs, well, technically, a good friend of Remus. The two had become good study buddies over the past few years. Cheryl was incredibly smart and fun. She as always a welcome addition to the group when they were hanging out, and Krys was grateful for her company. She had been feeling pretty lonely all cooped up in the library.

"Hey girls!" Lily said, walking up to them with her backpack. "Krys, I've been looking for you. Dumbledore wants to see you in his office."

"Oh shit! What day is it? Crap! I am so late!" she said, packing up quickly and mentally kicking herself for forgetting her appointment with Dumbledore. They had a standing biweekly appointment, and she had only been late a handful of times in the past seven years. With a quick goodbye, she raced off to the headmaster's office. After Krys vacated her chair, Lily sat down and pulled out her Transfiguration essay. She turned to ask Cheryl's opinion on it when she saw her friend staring at the entrance to the library, They both waved as Remus and Samantha entered. Remus waved happily and Same smiled back, a little shyly.

"They make a cute couple, don't they?" Cheryl said, going for a conversational tone, though it came out sounding a bit strained.

"Uh, yeah, I guess they do." Lily said, looking at Cheryl closely.

"She's very pretty. Well, I'm glad he's happy." Cheryl said with finality. "Is that your essay for Transfiguration?" she asked, clearly ready to change subjects.

"Yeah it is. Could you take a look at it for me?" Lily asked , a little unsure of what had just happened. She wanted to tell the clever Ravenclaw that she was prettier than Samantha by far, but Cheryl had clearly moved on. She was twirling a strand of her straight dark hair between her fingers absent mindedly as she read over Lily's carefully thought out essay.

"Oh, so have you asked James to Slughorn's party, yet?" Cheryl asked, looking up questioningly.

"About that," Lily blushed, " well, no, not yet."

"You should probably get on that." Cheryl suggested before returning to the essay. Lily let her mind wander so she waited for Cheryl's verdict. _I wonder what Krys is talking to Dumbledore about. I'll have to remember to tell her about my weird conversation with Cheryl._

**A/N: I know this chapter is short, but I'm trying to speed things up. Please review! Pretty please with a cherry on top! **


	4. Angry Words

Krys ran towards the headmaster's office and skidded to a halt in front of the gargoyles that guarded the entrance.

"Crap!" she said angrily as she realized she didn't know the password. She threw her bag down on the ground in frustration.

"Temper, temper." She whipped around to see a smirking Malfoy shaking his finger at her.

"Malfoy," she spat, "Leave me alone."

"Now, why would I want to do that? It's not often I get you all to myself, Ms. Meadows." He said, silkily, walking towards her.

"First and last time, Malfoy," she said, pulling out her wand.

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure of that." He said, smiling evilly. Before she could respond or retaliate, the gargoyles slid open and Professor Dumbledore walked out.

"I thought I heard voices." He said calming surveying the scene. Malfoy had moved even closer to Krys, and she held her wand out in front to ward him off. At Dumbledore's appearance, Krys had turned to greet the tall headmaster. Malfoy had taken advantage of her moment of inattention to grab her hand and quickly kiss it.

"Until next time, Ms. Meadows." He said in that slimy, creepy way of his.

"You little rat!" she said, raising her wand, only to have Dumbledore lay a hand gently on her arm, lowering it.

"Mr. Malfoy is quite the gentleman, isn't he?" Dumbledore said, watching Malfoy's retreating back. She was about to retort hotly when she saw that he was making fun of her.

"Now, if you'll kindly follow me, we'll go up to my office for our meeting." She followed him quietly, still seething from her most recent encounter with Malfoy. She was debating whether or not to tell Sirius. She doubted that he would react positively, so it was probably best if she just didn't mention it. Then it would be more like it didn't happen. Dumbledore kindly held the door open for her as they stepped into his office.

"Professor, I'm so sorry for being late! I was studying in the library, and I lost track of time. I've just been so busy. And, then, I didn't know the password. And, Malfoy…" she said, tripping over her words in her rush to explain herself.

"Krysthalia," Dumbledore said, interrupting her excuses, "it's quite alright. Please, sit down. Now, how have you been?" He sat down across from her and looked at her closely.

"Good. Just a little busy. But, I've been feeling fine. I mean, no offense, sir, but, I'm not even sure why we still have these meetings." She replied.

"Oh?" he said, an eyebrow slightly arched.

"Well, yeah. I mean, I haven't had an…episode in about two years. Not that I don't enjoy our time together, though. I definitely do." She didn't mean to offend the older wizard, just point out the obvious.

"As do I." he said smiling, " Well, though you may no longer require our meetings, I look forward to our time together. I would really like it if we continued having our chats." She smiled at him, knowing that he was just humoring her.

"I suppose that would be alright."

"So, you'll be coming of age soon." He began, conversationally.

"My birthday is right in the middle of winter holidays! I hope Mum and Dad will be back by then." She said, she hadn't even thought of that.

"Oh, I'm sure they will be. It's not likely that they'll miss their only daughter's most important birthday." Dumbledore said, quite confidently. He knew the Meadows well. He had taught the couple when they were students at Hogwarts. He had also been involved in Krysthalia's adoption and was the reason she was the youngest in her year. Krys hadn't received the traditional letter of acceptance on her eleventh birthday. She started at Hogwarts when she was ten years old. Dumbledore had brought her to the school a week into the school year. It had been decided that it would be easier for him to keep an eye on her if she was at Hogwarts. She remembered sitting in the same office a little over six years ago, extremely nervous, as Dumbledore explained that she would be in Gryffindor and all of her belongings were already in the tower.

Their time together passed quickly, as it always did. Professor Dumbledore was a fascinating wizard and had much to teach her. They ended the session with their traditional deep breathing exercise, and she stood to leave. She spotted the Sorting Hat on her way out, it had been moved from its usual position. Dumbledore followed her gaze.

"Ah, yes. I should probably put that back where it belongs." he said, picking up the Hat. In answer to her questioning look, he continued.

"I was playing with it earlier." She paused before opening the door.

"Professor? How do you know that I'm in the right House? I mean, what would the Hat have said to me?" she asked, not entirely sure she wanted to know the answer. She had asked herself that question a lot, but was always too afraid to voice it out loud. She had never been properly sorted. Dumbledore had decided what House she was to be in himself. He smiled at her kindly.

"Krysthalia, I'm positive that you're exactly where you belong." Though it didn't answer her questions completely, Krys was still reassured by his answer. She opened the door and paused again.

"Professor? What would you like for Christmas?"

"Oh, you certainly don't have to get me anything." He said, chuckling.

"I know. But, you know Mum will send something for sure. It might as well be something you would like." He thought a second before answering.

"Socks," he said, "I never get enough socks." She laughed.

"Alright. Socks it is. Goodnight, Professor." With that she left his office and went straight to her Common Room.

She didn't see anyone there that she wanted to talk to, well, except for Peter. With a quick wave to him, she continued up the stairs to her room. She collapsed, exhausted, on her bed. Her sessions with Dumbledore always left her feeling drained. She planned to just close her eyes for a second. When Lily entered the room hours later, she found Krys in a deep sleep, still in her school robes. She smiled at her friend and covered her with a blanket. _That girl really needs to take it easy with the studying. She's going to wear herself out,_ she thought to herself before slipping into her own bed and falling quickly asleep.

The next day was chaotic. It was the day of the Gryffindor and Slytherin match, and everyone was excited. Taunts and jeers rang through the hallways as both sides exchanged unpleasantries. It was tradition for teams to try and psych each other out before a big game, but this year seemed even more intense. Krys and Lily had to stop Sirius from hexing a Slytherin more than once before lunch time. Peter made sure to stick close to one of the other boys. The Slytherins had figured out that he was the weakest one and always picked on him first. James and Sirius tried to make him stand up for himself, but to no avail. Remus, on the other hand, simply protected the less competent boy. Luckily, they only had a half day of classes.

After lunch, everyone made their way to the Quidditch field. The group said Good Luck to their oddly quiet friend James as he broke off to join the rest of the Gryffindor team. Krys had little doubt that he was ready to win. He had been practicing non stop. The game was actually supposed to have been the weekend before, but it had been rescheduled because of an injury. One of the Slytherin beaters had been in the hospital wing, though Krys had no idea why. James had welcomed the extra time to practice, but one look at the determination on his face showed that he was ready to get down to business. Krys spotted Frank and Alice in the bleachers saving the rest of them seats, and she led everyone over to them. As they made themselves comfortable on the freezing cold seats, Cheryl made her way to them.

"Hey guys!" she said as everyone greeted her enthusiastically. She sat down at the end next to Remus. With Samantha on one side and Cheryl on the other, Remus looked faintly uncomfortable, though Krys had no idea why. She had thought for a while that Remus might be interested in Cheryl, but, after he told her of his feelings for Samantha, she had dismissed the idea. On the pitch, Madame Hooch blew her whistle indicating the start of the match. All eyes turned to the players soaring through the air. It started out routinely enough, but the match quickly turned dirty. Slytherin Beaters were aiming for anything that was moving, specifically the heads of the opposing teams Chasers. Luckily, the Gryffindor Beaters were doing their best to retaliate, aiming Bludger after Bludger at the cheating players. Krys kept her eyes on James, whenever she could see him. He was too fast to get hit by a Beater, but she still worried about what other underhand tactics the Slytherin team might have up its sleeve. Sirius didn't seem worried about his best friend, at all. Of course, it wasn't often that Sirius seemed worried. The sky darkened, never a good sign during a Quidditch game. As icy snow began to fall, Madame Hooch blew her whistle for a time out. The teams reconvened on the ground. Krys looked at the Slytherin huddle to see Malfoy talking and staring at James with malice. Before she could point out the evil grin on his face to Sirius, the teams were back into the air. More than anything else the players had done so far, the way Malfoy had stared at James scared her the most. She just grabbed Lily's hand and squeezed tightly, hoping that the game would be over soon. And, as though he had heard her thoughts, James turned into a sharp dive, obviously spotting the Golden Snitch. Malfoy saw the sudden movement and started to follow James, but, he was clearly too far behind. James pulled out of his nosedive inches from the ground, Golden Snitch in hand. He landed and held it up for the audience to see. There was a huge swell of noise as Gryffindors, Ravenclaws, and Hufflepuffs applauded the victory.

While everyone was staring at the incredibly happy James, Krys looked at Malfoy who was still mid dive. She squinted against the snow to see him more clearly. She saw him reach inside his robes and pull out his wand, pointing it at James. _Oh no, you don't!_ she thought angrily. That little piece of slime! Anger clouded her vision, she heard herself scream James's name, felt a surge of energy that left her feeling drained. She stumbled a bit, only to have Sirius immediately steady her. He looked at her concerned, but, instead of a response, she simply turned and pointed to the pitch. Hurtling towards the celebrating Gryffidor team, and the hard, cold ground, was Malfoy. His wand was still in his hand, but he had clearly lost control of his broom. There was no other explanation for the look of terror on his face and the breakneck speed at which he was going. _Shit, _Krys thought, looking at the result of her anger. She looked away, not wanting to see the accident that would surely occur. But, instead of the bone crunching noise she expected, she heard a collective sigh as everyone around her stopped holding their breath. She turned to see Dumbledore standing on the pitch, wand aimed carefully at Malfoy, lowering him slowly to the ground. _Shit, shit, shit,_ she thought again. She was going to be in so much trouble for this. She made her way down to James with the rest of her friends, though what she really wanted to do was run and hide. She half heartedly congratulated James, though he was too elated to notice, and before she could leave, she felt a hand on her shoulders.

"Ms. Meadows, can I have a minute?" Dumbledore looked down at her seriously. She nodded nervously. As soon as they had walked out of earshot of the other students, she started trying to explain herself for the second time in two days.

"He was pointing his wand at James! He was going to hurt him, I know it! And, I was just so angry at him about last night, and last week, and I just don't know what happened! I didn't mean to do it! Honest!" she said, sincerely hoping that he believed her. "I guess this means that I definitely still need our meetings," she finished lamely.

"I'll say," he said, but there was no amusement in his voice, "Krysthalia, maybe we need to increase our sessions back to once a week."

"Yes, Professor." She said, hanging her head, feeling that she had let him down.

"We'll talk about it when you get back from holidays." He said, more kindly. He knew that she hadn't meant for that to happen.

"Now, go have fun with your friends. I'm sure they'll be looking for you to start the party." She smiled weakly at him.

"See you after the holidays, Professor." She made her solitary way back to the Gryffindor tower. Even before she entered the Fat Lady's hallway, she could hear the party that was surely occurring in the Gryffindor common room. She turned the corner to see Lily kissing a Ravenclaw on the cheek. _Well, I certainly wasn't expecting that_, Krys thought, really confused as to what was going on. She wasn't the only one. Right then, James turned the corner at the other end of the hallway.

"What the hell is going on?!" He said, very loudly. Both Lily and the boy jumped at the sound of his voice. They turned and tried to explain at the same time, but James wasn't in any mood to listen.

"Get out!" he yelled at the poor boy, who after an apologetic look at Lily, turned and fled. Krys flattened against the wall to let him pass, trying not to draw attention to herself.

"What the hell?" James repeated, a little bit softer, "Who is that? What do you think you're playing at?"

"Well, first of all, I don't really know that it's any of your business." Lily said, embarrassed that he had caught her but way too proud to admit it.

"None of my business? What do you mean 'None of my business'?" James yelled.

"That's exactly what I mean!" Lily yelled back, "What? It's not like we're dating! If you can kiss other girls, why can't I kiss other boys?"

"Other girls? What are you talking about, crazy woman! And, the only reason we're not dating is because you're too goddamn stubborn!" he shouted, clearly not aware that he wasn't helping his case.

"Too stubborn, am I?? Well, the only reason I was in this hallway was because I was looking for you! So, you're the reason I was in this mess!" She said, getting pretty worked up.

"You were looking for me?" James said, too incredulous to be angry any more.

"Yeah," Lily answered, a little quieter to match James's lowered voice, "I was."

"But, then why were you kissing that guy?" James demanded, a valid question in Krys's view. Why had she been kissing some random guy if she was looking for James?

"What are you accusing me of? What? You think I'm some kind of slut?" Lily said, clearly overreacting to the question.

"What?? I never said that! That's not what I meant!" James said, trying to recover.

"Whatever, just forget it. I don't even know why I bothered looking for you in the first place." Lily said, turning to climb into the portrait hole.

"Fine! Leave! What do I care what you do! You can kiss anyone you want! It's fine by me!" James said angrily as she disappeared into the Common Room. He paced around the hallway for a few minutes, trying to cool off before joining the celebration. Then, with a deep breath, he climbed into the Common Room, too, to shouts of congratulations. Krys waited a few minutes before following him. She was still confused about what had just happened. It was obvious that Lily cared for James, so what was she doing? And, why was James yelling at her instead of trying to find out what was going on? She looked around the room and saw Lily at the edge of a circle of girls, clearly preoccupied. Krys started to make her way towards her when she felt someone grab her arm. She turned to see Sirius grinning at her.

"Where have you been?" He asked, kissing her on the cheek.

"Oh, um, nowhere," she answered. She tried to smile at him, but it looked more like a grimace.

"What is up with you two?" He asked, looking from her to someone on his other side. Krys looked around him to see James. She quickly looked away, not wanting to make eye contact with him. She felt bad for eavesdropping on his "conversation" with Lily.

"Nothing." James said, clearly upset about something.

"Well, great then." Sirius said, sarcastically, "Come on, let's try and have some fun." He dragged the two over to the group of girls in the middle, and beckoned for Remus to join them. Naturally, Peter followed. Lily looked up as they approached, then quickly looked away, pretending to enjoy herself, but not very well. Lily had never been very good at lying to friends. Sirius looked from her to Krys, who was still shaken by earlier, to James, who was glowering, to Remus who, for some reason, looked very preoccupied.

"What the hell is going on with you guys?" he asked, very confused.

"Nothing," all of them mumbled at the same time, proving his point.

"Nothing's wrong with me, Sirius." Peter squeaked.

"Yeah, well, it looks like we're the only ones, Peter," Sirius said, still surveying the group, "Come on. Let's go join the real party. We'll leave these kids to wallow by themselves. I think the sadness is infectious." Krys gave him a faint smile, and kissed him on the cheek as he led Peter away. This was going to be a long night.

**A/N: First, I wanted to say thank you to my very first reviewer ever! **

**Thanks Ainulin! I'm glad you like it so far!**

**Oh, and I know that James is supposed to be a Chaser. I didn't figure that out until after I finished this chapter! Sorry about that! It just works better this way! **

**Please review, and tell me what you guys think! **


	5. Prying Minds

The next day in class, no one could concentrate. It was the last day of classes before Christmas holidays, and everyone was too excited to pay attention. Most of the teachers had given up on lectures for the day, some more reluctantly than others. It had taken James almost burning down the classroom for Professor McGonagall to finally give in. It wasn't the holidays that were distracting James, though. He had been uncharacteristically quiet and moody all day. Krys knew that he was upset about the night before, but his attitude seemed a bit extreme. He and Lily weren't dating after all. James didn't even smile when people came up to congratulate him about his victory the day before. After he mumbled yet another thanks to some sixth year girls, who walked away looked fairly upset at his lack of response, Sirius decided to confront his best friend.

"What's wrong with you, mate?" he asked, pulling James aside as they were walking to class.

"Nothing, just don't worry about it." James answered, quietly, shrugging off Sirius's hand.

"Come on, it's me! I know something's wrong. Those girls were all over you, and you didn't even smile!" Sirius said, trying to brighten his friend's mood.

"Is that all you think I care about? Girls??" James snapped at Sirius.

"Woah, take it easy. You know I was just kidding." Sirius said, trying to calm James down. The last thing he had wanted to do was make James even more upset.

"Yeah, whatever." James muttered, walking into the classroom. They had reached the Potions dungeon by then. Sirius sat down next to an even quieter James. Krys sat on his other side, leading an equally upset Lily. Sirius looked at her questioningly, and she responded with a shrug. She still didn't understand why they were still so upset. James had kissed other girls before, sometimes in front of Lily. It had been a while, though. Now that she actually thought about it, she couldn't remember the last time James had been out with a girl. Maybe she had underestimated his feelings about Lily.

While Slughorn quieted the class and set them on their preholiday task of making eggnog, of all things, Krys debated whether or not she should do something that she had promised herself she wouldn't. _I always said I wouldn't_, she told herself, _but, I mean, it's not like I'm using anything against him. I just want to know. Well, I should really just ask him, then, _she thought, knowing that would be the right thing to do. But, if she had learned one thing from spending so much time with James and Sirius it was that doing the right thing could get pretty boring. With that in mind, she made her decision. Now, all she needed was an opportunity. Luckily, one presented itself, further convincing her that she had made the right decision. Slughorn told them to split into groups of three to make the traditional Christmas drink. Remus and Peter were sitting in a group of two, and Sirius gallantly offered to move tables, though, Krys noted, he looked relieved to leave the sullen James for a while. _Perfect,_ she thought.

Lily started getting the ingredients together, since, out of the three of them, she was the only one who had made it before. Krys decided that this would be the perfect time for her plan. So, she started to do something that she hadn't done in a very long time, at least, not on purpose. She took some deep breaths and opened her mind. She calmly let herself reach out her thoughts towards James. She felt a little uncomfortable as she pushed herself into what James was thinking. Looking into people's minds was something she could do with ease, but Krys had always told herself that she would never do that to a friend. She bit her lip, but continued searching for what she wanted to know. She found out quickly and drew back, trying to focus on what Lily was saying. _He LOVES her!_ She thought, excited and confused. She had always thought that James's feelings for Lily were more superficial, and she used to worry that Lily would get hurt. She knew Lily's real feelings for James ran deep and strong, she didn't need to read Lily's mind to figure that one out. _Why didn't he tell me? Oh, I bet Sirius knew the whole time!_ She was sorely tempted to reach out to him next and see if he had indeed been keeping it secret from her. She stopped herself, though. _No, you can just ask him later. I mean, I've kept stuff about Lily from him_, she thought, holding herself back. But, before she could refocus her mind to the task at hand, she felt something, or, rather, heard something. Someone else was trying something uncomfortably similar to her little trick. She heard them in her mind. Whoever it was, he was obviously new at this. He was intrusive and sloppy. She knew that he was trying to find something out from her. She focused in on who it was. She gasped, and, mouth hanging open in disbelief, turned to stare at Severus Snape. Her eyes narrowed in intense dislike as he looked at her, surprised and shocked. She glared daggers at him as she blocked her mind from his reckless prying. Sirius heard her gasp and looked up.

"Is everything ok?" He asked from the table over. Krys turned to him and smiled sweetly, nodding. As soon as he turned back, she locked eyes with Snape again, staring him down. He audibly gulped and looked away, knowing that, as impossible as it had seemed, he had been caught. She didn't trust that he had been deterred, though. She was right. Within a few minutes, she felt him reaching towards James. _Damn! What is he doing?_ She thought, annoyed. She really wasn't in the mood for this. She pushed him back, again. It was harder this time, since it wasn't directed at her. She ran interference again and again as he continued his search into Sirius's, Remus's, and even Peter's mind. Eventually, he gave up. _Finally! I thought he was going to try Lily next. I really hope he chills out. I'm getting pretty tired_, she thought, hardly noticing what Lily was making.

She sat back in her chair, not wanting to move. If only she could blast Snape into the next dungeon. She highly doubted that Dumbledore would approve of that course of action, though. The remainder of the period passed quickly. Krys stayed seated, recovering from her mental battle, and did whatever Lily asked her to do. James sat next to her, silently doodling on a piece of parchment, stopping every now and then to sneak a glance at Lily. Lily, on the other hand, was busy mixing and measuring things, happy to have something to distract her. That didn't stop her, however, from looking at James whenever she thought Krys wasn't watching her. Krys shook her head. This whole thing was so silly. They really needed to work things out. Everyone was going to Hogmeade this afternoon, maybe they could sort things out then. She was even prepared to lock them in a broom closet together, if that was what it was going to take. The period ended, and Slughorn handed everyone a bottle to put their homemade, or rather school made, eggnog in.

"Happy Christmas, everyone!" He shouted cheerfully. As everyone filed out of the classroom in high spirits, Krys pretended to drop her bag.

"Crap!" she said, "Don't bother waiting for me, I'll meet you in the Common Room." She waved on her friends who offered to stay behind. After quickly gathering her things, she turned on Snape, who was always the last to leave the Potions classroom.

"I don't know what you think you're doing," she started in a menacing whisper, "But I wouldn't continue if I were you. I don't try to see into your friends' minds so stay away from mine!" He stared at her, shocked that he had been found out. Before he could answer, she walked out of the classroom, leaving him alone dumbfounded. She walked to the Gryffindor Common Room, deep in thought. She decided that she wouldn't tell anyone about this, not even Dumbledore. After all, how would she explain what she had been doing?

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys!**

**Ainulin- )**

**Queen Nightshade- I LOVE Sirius, too! Man, I wish I knew someone like him...**

**Jessluvsharry- The next chapter should clear up at least one of your questions. I can't give away everything, though!**

**I know this chapter is short! Sorry! I had to go to my fabulous and glamorous job at the neighborhood ice cream parlor!**

**Tell me what you think!!**


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